Wisniewski Lays Out Bold Progressive Plan To Rebuild NJ Middle Class

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Speaking before the New Jersey Policy Perspective conference in New Brunswick, progressive gubernatorial contender John Wisniewski laid out a bold, progressive agenda to rebuild New Jersey’s middle-class.

“It is time we had a Governor who will stand up to the party bosses and special interests and fight for the hopes and dreams of our middle class,” said Wisniewski, who serves as the Transportation Committee chair in the New Jersey State Assembly. “In New Jersey, our middle class is under siege and our leaders simply doesn’t care.”

Declaring that New Jersey’s next governor “will inherit a rigged economy where most of the new wealth goes to the top 1%,” Wisniewski advocated an immediate increase in the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, fully funding the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) and renewed his call for tuition-free college and university for families earning less than $125,000.

“Our middle class workers are also struggling under the strain of rising property taxes — the fastest way to provide property tax relief in New Jersey is to fully fund our public schools,” he said.

Citing rising health care costs as another financial impediment for middle class families, Wisniewski advocated for single-payer healthcare, proclaiming that, “healthcare must be a right, not a luxury for the wealthy.

On the need for job creation, Wisniewski championed transitioning to a clean energy economy as an incubator for job growth. “We face a climate emergency. Under my administration, our Clean Energy Program will be used as it was intended — to help homeowners, businesses and municipalities transition to clean energy alternatives. New Jersey must expand its investment in solar and wind energy to reduce toxic pollution and create good-paying jobs.”

He also focused on the need for statewide public works program to address New Jersey’s aging transportation infrastructure. “These investments must focus on providing easy access to affordable housing and employment hubs with family-supporting jobs,” said Wisniewski. “New Jersey’s current transportation infrastructure under-serves working people — particularly people of color — who largely rely on public transportation.”

“New Jersey has every ingredient to be the economic leader of the Eastern Seaboard. We have everything a state could possibly dream of — the people, the universities, the transportation hubs, the strategic location, the waterways — we have it all.”

“What we have lacked is leadership,” he concluded. “For 12 years, we’ve had inexperienced leadership trying to govern with Wall Street gimmicks or bullying tactics or the greed of personal ambition. None of it worked. The old, backroom ways of doing business are not the future.”

“It is time we put the values and dreams of middle class, hard-working New Jerseyans ahead of Wall Street profits and transactional party bosses.”

###

John Wisniewski has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 1995. As Chairman of the Transportation Committee, Wisniewski led the fight against former Governor Jon Corzine’s attempt to privatize and sell the New Jersey Turnpike and first exposed Governor Christie’s “Bridgegate” scandal. He is the former New Jersey State Democratic Party Chair and recently chaired U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential effort in the Garden State. Born and raised in Sayreville, Assemblyman Wisniewski is an attorney and small business owner in his hometown.